Since the voting age was lowered to 18 in 1971, one trend has remained constant across all elections: our youngest voters (ages 18-25) have the lowest turnout of all age groups.
Years of research (see data from CIRCLE at Tuft’s University) reveal a number of reasons why young voters aren’t engaging at higher levels. The potential solutions are just as numerous, each addressing a different obstacle along the youth voter pipeline.
That’s where the Y comes in. Alongside a coalition of partners, we are making a nationwide Youth Voter Challenge – to transform the culture around youth voting in our schools and communities, to ensure the highest possible rates of youth voter registration/turnout, and to actively engage youth voters as changemakers at all levels of government.
Our Youth Voter Challenge asks YMCA participants, advisors/volunteers, and staff – and their respective schools and YMCAs – to take part in a 4-phase effort transforming youth voter participation in their communities.
Please sign-up to become a Youth Voter Champion below, and ask your peers/colleagues to do the same. We encourage schools and Ys to have as many participants join the challenge as possible!
Once an individual from your school or Y has signed-up for the challenge, your school or Y will be added to our National Dashboard. As additional members sign-up, we’ll continue adding them to your total # of champions.
By signing-up to become a Youth Voter Champion, you’ll agree to support your school/delegation through each phase of our challenge:
Phase 1 | Advocacy
Phase 2 | Youth Poll Worker Pledge
Phase 3 | Mobilization & Registration
Phase 4 | Get Out the Vote (GOTV)
In addition to the organizations and resources already mentioned, we have also organized an additional list of links and materials to help support your youth voter outreach efforts: